US aviation authority orders inspection of Boeing 737s

The US Federal Aviation Agency plans to inspect more than a thousand Boeing 737 airplanes to check for corrosion on certain pins that could compromise safety, according to a notice on the Federal Register.

In the document, dated April 15, the agency said it had been informed of an "incorrect procedure used to apply the wear and corrosion protective surface coating to attach pins of the horizontal stabilizer rear spar."

The parts will need to be inspected and, in problem cases, replaced "to prevent premature failure of the attach pins, which could cause reduced structural integrity ... resulting in loss of control of the airplane."